Tag: Corner Pizza

Pizza, Salad, and a Movie: The Secret Life of Pets

This weekend’s Pizza Toppings at Corner Pizza:

  • Capers
  • Jalapeños
  • Green Olives

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I had the spinach salad.

Movie:

The Secret Life of Pets

This film was laugh-out-loud, very entertaining, sweet and lovable – kind of like Toy Story but with pets (and not just dogs). I really liked the cat (and I don’t really like real cats), and I loved all the dogs, especially the poodle. It was very funny and very cute. Next time, we’re going for an action/thriller (probably Jason Bourne), but I’m glad we saw Pets.

The pizza: Yes, we are still on a salad-for-me and jalapeños-for-him on the pizza (taking lots of it home) while I’m boycotting pizza. I suggested the other two toppings (I was thinking, why not do all green?) and he liked the idea.

He said it was tasty. So was my dinner, which was pretty green, too.

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Pizza, Salad, and a Movie: Ghostbusters

This weekend’s Pizza Toppings at Corner Pizza:

  • Chicken
  • Jalapeños
  • Sliced Tomatoes

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Me? I had a wedge salad again.

Movie:

Ghostbusters

The film: A solid remake, funny, entertaining, well cast, and if you liked the original, you’ll probably like this one, too.

The pizza: He’s on a jalapeños kick (with my blessing) because I’m not eating pizza for the foreseeable future. My salad was great, though.

Movies we want to see very soon: The Secret Life of Pets, Jason Bourne (we’re binge watching the previous ones, all of which I LOVE), Captain Fantastic, Bad Moms (note: I almost titled my last novel, DADDY’S GIRL, as BAD CINDERELLA – and maybe I should have), and later on, Ben-Hur.

 

 

 

 

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Pizza, Salad, and a Movie: Love and Friendship

This weekend’s Pizza Toppings at Corner Pizza:

  • Ham
  • Jalapeños
  • Spinach *

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(I had a wedge salad with chicken.)

We my husband chose jalapeños since I’m not eating pizza right now (and for a while), and I don’t like them.

Movie:

Love and Friendship

All in all, I liked this film, but lots of characters are introduced early in the opening credits, and it was hard for me to keep track of them – almost overwhelming. It was distracting as I tried to follow the plot. However, I love Jane Austen, and if you do, too, I think you will like this movie.

One reason we chose to see it was that it was playing at the right time (7:15). Other films we want to see were playing either too early or too late at our theater of choice: Ghostbusters, The Secret Life of Pets [me], and Star Trek Beyond [him – I just don’t like Star Trek.] Pets was playing at 7:00 so that was doable, but after Finding Dory last time, he requested we not watch an animated movie, and I agreed. Maybe next time, though. Or maybe Ghostbusters at a different cinema.

I ain’t afraid of no ghost.

*He asked for Sliced Tomatoes, but he got Spinach instead, and said it was tasty.

 

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Pizza and a Movie: Finding Dory

This (last) weekend’s Pizza Toppings at Corner Pizza:

  • Bacon
  • Extra Cheese
  • Green Olives

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Movie:

Finding Dory

I had a spinach salad and two slices of pizza (although I’d planned not to have any pizza). He chose all the toppings, and since I’m trying to eat less (or no) pizza now, I suggested he choose jalapeños next time. (That’ll ensure I stick to a salad alone.)

I loved Finding Nemo, and this film was quite good too: entertaining, visually dazzling, funny, sweet, and everything good that is Pixar. The only thing I didn’t absolutely love is that Dory kept saying that she suffers from short-term memory loss (which we knew from the first movie, but that came out a long time ago, so there you are). She’s adorable, though, and I loved the story.

When my husband was a little boy, the story goes, one evening, after playing outside, he kept asking his parents the same questions, and couldn’t remember their answers. They realized he was “suffering from short-term memory loss” and took him to a doctor, who said he had had a concussion. He recovered, started remembering things again, and never had another concussion, thank goodness. I never had an experience like that, so I don’t know what it’s like.

But he never forgot.

 

 

 

 

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Pizza and a Movie: The Nice Guys

This weekend’s Pizza Toppings at Corner Pizza:

  • Artichoke Hearts
  • Capers
  • Pineapple

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Movie:

The Nice Guys

I was all prepared to really like this Shane Black film, but I found it kind of disjointed and a bit of a mess, plot-wise. But because I prefer to talk about what I liked rather than criticize, here’s a (short) list of what I liked best:

  1. Ryan Gosling
  2. The actress who played his daughter (Angourie Rice)

I’m a fan of Russell Crowe, but I didn’t find him or his character very appealing. I did like Kim Basinger in it. I was okay with the movie being set in the late 1970s, too, and a kind of Lethal Weapon-ish redux (and Lethal Weapon is one of my all time favorite films), but this one just didn’t work for me.

Other films I’ve seen recently (sans the pizza) are Zootopia and The Money Monster. I thought the first was very entertaining, but I didn’t feel the same way about the second.

As for the pizza, I wanted only vegetables (and fruit), and he selected the artichoke hearts. You may have noticed we aren’t going every Friday anymore; sometimes we’ve been out of town, and other times, it didn’t fit into our weekend plans. For the next few months (at least), for the same reasons, we will probably only go once or twice a month.

And hopefully, the movies will get better!

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Pizza and a Movie: Eye in the Sky

This weekend’s Pizza Toppings at Corner Pizza:

  • Pineapple
  • Portobellos
  • Red Onions

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Movie:

Eye in the Sky

I wanted a vegetarian pizza, and so this is what we chose. It was très bon.

As for the film…well, he picked it. I wanted to see Everybody Wants Some!! but he convinced me that it would be out for at least a few weeks, so we can see it next time, whereas as Eye in the Sky may be getting close to the end of its run.

(He later mentioned wanting to see The Jungle Book sometime too, which totally surprised me.)

Anyway, take Helen Mirren (wonderful), add a war movie of sorts (think: drone strike), add a little girl who just wants to sell bread (unfortunately, near the target), and…well, you get the idea. Oh, and throw in the British and Americans arguing about it.

I can’t say I loved it, but I did enjoy watching it, for the most part. A bonus for me was that Aaron Paul (who played Jesse in Breaking Bad) was in this movie. Jesse was my favorite character in BB, and in this, he almost seemed like he was still Jesse (in a good way). Two other notables: Alan Rickman, and Jeremy North. The latter was in a movie I LOVE called The Winslow Boy (think: England in the early 20th century – he was great in it).

I’m looking forward to something a little less serious and intense when we go see Everybody Wants Some!! ….The title alone has hooked me (!!)

 

 

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Pizza and a Movie: The Martian

This Last weekend’s Pizza Toppings at Corner Pizza:

  • Arugula
  • Bacon
  • Sun Dried Tomatoes

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Movie:

The Martian

Yes, I know this movie is no longer playing in theaters. We missed it when it was,* and since nothing at the cinema at the moment seemed interesting, we decided to go home and watch this film.

We had both recently read the book, and we both liked the movie. But, as is often the case, the book was better, and there were some things left out of the film 😦 But it was still really good.

What made it really good, for me (now I wish it had won an Academy Award; I think it was nominated for 3, including Adapted Screenplay, yay) weren’t the science of it, or the special effects. I don’t even (normally) like science fiction. Though I know we aren’t sending people to (make that, leaving people on) Mars yet, I felt like this story could actually be happening. Now.

No, what made it so good were A, the characters (all) – notice I didn’t say actors, though it was well cast; B, the humor (mostly in dialogue); and C, the story itself. And B was the best. Same thing for the novel by Andy Weir, which I highly recommend.

When is Hollywood going to figure out that it’s about the writing?

We passed on going to see The Boss, and I guess we will go see that soon. I hear it’s funny. However, it will be a different kind of humor than what Weir did in his book, and what was in the movie.

Now for the pizza. He wanted Arugula. The other toppings gave it the crunch and the tang (and flavor) we wanted. Yum.

Bon appétit.

*Two others we missed and plan to watch at home are Mad Max: Fury Road and Steve Jobs. We did see Creed, though, and it was fantastic. Blood and all.

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Pizza and a Movie: 10 Cloverfield Lane

This weekend’s Pizza Toppings at Corner Pizza:

  • Banana Peppers
  • Pineapple
  • Red Onion

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Movie:

10 Cloverfield Lane

I asked my husband to choose the toppings, because I had a phone call coming in when we arrived that I had been waiting to receive. I walked over to a booth while he ordered the pizza and our drinks at the counter.

He did okay (I like banana peppers, and red onion), and thoughtfully selected pineapple (one of my favorites). But it didn’t quite work for me. However, it was because of the combination; it wasn’t the restaurant’s fault.

I had chosen the movie, after glancing at the reviews online. I wish I had paid more attention to the story description, though. I was ready for suspense, but this film was more than that; it was too disturbing, and more like a horror movie, a genre I rarely like. I can’t count the number of times that I either shuddered or (partially) hid my eyes while watching it.

Think: Last year’s film Room, plus a little of the TV show Breaking Bad, plus The Cabin in the Woods, plus a bit of Halloween and even Fargo. (I liked all of those, though.) Throw in a conspiracy theorist/doomsday prepper and some science fiction (neither of which I like), and an ending that begs for a sequel.

Which, if there is one, I won’t want to see.

Ugh. It just didn’t work for me, and I came home being afraid I was going to have nightmares, and had to calm down before I went to sleep.

But even with two “misses,” I still enjoyed the evening out with my husband. It was a date night, and we had a chance to share some time together to talk, laugh, and enjoy each other. We even giggled as we walked out of the theater–not because the film was funny (it wasn’t), but because we just had to laugh at our mistakes.

 

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Pizza and a Movie: Whiskey Tango Foxtrot

This weekend’s Pizza Toppings at Corner Pizza:

  • Feta Cheese
  • Garlic
  • Green Peppers

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I was ready for feta cheese on a pizza, but somehow the toppings we chose didn’t quite work well together.

Movie:

Whisky Tango Foxtrot

This was more of a drama than a comedy, and at times it seemed a little slow. However, it kept me engaged in the story, and I thought Tina Fey did a great job in her role as a journalist in Afghanistan. There were some very good lines, too, although – due to his Scottish accent –  I didn’t quite catch everything that one character said. That’s too bad, and it made me wish that the film had had English subtitles throughout.

This was a decent to good movie, something that seems hard to find right now, just after the Academy Awards. It did a good job touching on what life is like in Afghanistan, and on the culture. All in all, it was a nice change from some of the less than great films we have been to see lately, and the cast of this movie did work well together. My advice, if you go to see it: brush up on your Scottish first.

 

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Pizza and a Movie: Lady in the Van

This weekend’s Pizza Toppings at Corner Pizza:

  • Black Olives
  • Pineapple
  • 1/2 Italian Sausage, 1/2 Jalapeños

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Movie:

Lady in the Van

Just one thing to mention about the pizza: I wanted pineapple, he wanted jalapeños, and this is what we came up with. Some people love jalapeños on a pizza. I don’t.

Now, for the movie. I found this film disturbing, and not very entertaining.

I love Maggie Smith in (almost) anything, and I adore her in Downton Abbey. The best part of this movie was her performance. But the story (billed as “mostly true”) didn’t do it for me. Because of that, and because her character is so different (mentally, and in other ways) in Downton Abbey, it was difficult for me to watch Maggie Smith in this role.

I wondered, afterward, what parts of the story weren’t true, and what parts were left out. If you see it, I think you’ll know what I’m talking about.  The treatment of the (real and fictional) lady in the van’s mental illness was terribly unsatisfying for me. Watching the film was like trying to solve a puzzle without all the pieces. And I don’t like that kind of puzzle, anyway.

I’ll be watching the Oscars this weekend, and I don’t believe Lady in the Van has been nominated for anything. Some people, I’ve heard, loved this film, and the performances.

To each his own.

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